


For Kicks and Kisses

by bgn846



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon Divergence, Cartus Scientia - Freeform, F3S, Fluff and Angst, Ignis Scientia Uncle, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Original Character(s), Young Cor Leonis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-07
Updated: 2019-08-07
Packaged: 2020-08-11 02:43:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20146282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bgn846/pseuds/bgn846
Summary: Cor thinks he can handle his new love life but its a little trickier than he expected. Especially when he's spent years teasing the man he currently calls his boyfriend.





	For Kicks and Kisses

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ragewerthers](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ragewerthers/gifts).

> This little drabble was born from a prompt from a friend of mine. It features an OC of theirs, Cartus Scientia, Ignis Scientia's uncle. You can read more of Cartus' adventures in their fic [Do You Dare Risk All?](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18612211/chapters/44128414)
> 
> I hope you all enjoy a little creative narrative of a twenty-four year old Cor and his crush having a date night among other things.
> 
> Thanks @ragewerthers for letting me use your OC. :)

Cor may have miscalculated a few things as he lay on the floor gasping for breath. The first being Cartus Scientia abilities in a training match. The second involved his brain, and why it decided to get distracted by someone’s long legs at the wrong time. 

At twenty-four Cor was already a seasoned fighter and something like this shouldn’t have happened. He’d fought under king Mors and that was in his teens. They called him the immortal for astrals sake. So why the hell would this long lean leg swinging towards his side be a problem? He could avoid that, but since it was the leg that belonged to Cartus Scientia, advisor to King Regis he failed miserably. 

Maybe it was because Cartus had finally agreed to be his boyfriend. That had to be the main reason for this egregious slipup. They’d rarely spared together as Cartus was rather good at avoiding his training sessions. However, now that he’d made amends with the man after bothering him for ages, it appeared things were changing.

Cor supposed it was karma coming back to literally kick his ass, due to the relentless teasing Cartus had endured from him over the years. Honestly he liked Cartus a lot, but that shining moment where he finally told him the truth had taken far too long. 

Enough time had elapsed from the misplaced kick that Cor finally thought he could form speech. “Why did you drop your leg?” He wheezed in a slightly high pitched voice.

Cartus was leaning over him with a distressed look and hovering hands, unsure of what to do. He’d essentially kicked a man in his nuts. “Sorry, I didn’t think you’d move that way.”

“You need to train more!” Cor spit out. “That is not how you fight in real life.”

“I didn’t want to hurt you.” Cartus lamented.

“It’s training, you are supposed to try and hurt the other guy!” He all but shouted. 

“No, Cor Leonis that is not how training works, you are supposed to get better not hurt your opponent.” 

Shifting to sit up so he could talk with Cartus better Cor groaned. He could still feel the twinges of discomfort from the kick. Humans and their anatomy. “Ok so maybe hurt was the wrong word, but you shouldn’t shift a kick like that mid-air. If you’re worried then don’t kick as hard. Don’t --.” He paused for dramatic effect. “Move randomly and kick me where it hurts.”

“Fine, but does that mean that is something you haven’t trained for?”

Scowling Cor sighed heavily. “I got distracted because it was you silly. I didn’t want to hurt you either. If anyone else had tried that move I would have adapted well enough.”

Cartus didn’t look like he believed him but chose to drop the subject. “Um can you walk alright?”

“Yes, of course I can. My pride is hurt more than my nuts Caz.” He quipped with a small smile. 

The young advisor sheepishly smiled at the use of the nickname, and quickly got up to turn and hide his flushed face. 

It took another few minutes before Cor decided he was going to try standing. Resisting the urge to bend over and whine, he focused on breathing deeply. Soon enough the last remnants of pain left him and he walked over to where Cartus had gone to rifle through his bag. “What are you doing now? We aren’t done.”

“I’m afraid we are Cor, I’ve got a meeting to go to and must go prepare.” Cartus announced.

“Why do you hate training so much, it’s good for you.”

Taking a breath through his nose Cartus raised an eyebrow at Cor. “I just do, now will you leave it.”

“I mean clearly you need more training, if you did that to me back there.” He continued on, ignoring the signs in front of him that Cartus was steadily getting angrier and angrier.

“Just because you like death and destruction doesn’t mean I have to!” He huffed. “Now if you’ll excuse me I must go.” Cartus turned abruptly, grabbed his bag, and stormed off to the locker room. 

Old Cor would have followed him and kept questioning the man, but he could tell it wasn’t a fun subject for Cartus. Cor was trying not to fall into his old habits of bother and pine from afar. They’d passed that milestone and he didn’t have to deal with having a crush anymore. This time it was real and tangible. 

* * *

Cartus took the fastest shower he could manage in hopes he wouldn’t have to see Cor again. Granted he was acting childish but darn it the man ruffled his feathers. Cor had done nothing but get under his skin for years, and all for a reason Cartus hadn’t been expecting. The marshal had liked him. He’d endured almost four years of immature antics from Cor. The man had never pushed hard enough to merit lodging a complaint and Cartus now knew why. 

It had been some misguided attempt at garnering his attention. Cor was acting like a school yard prat to get his crushes affections. Their relationship was still very new, only a few months old at best and Cartus still had trouble believing Cor wasn’t slipping back into his old ways. Things may be looking up though, since he hadn’t heard the sound of boots signaling Cor’s arrival.

After his shower he dressed a little slower. Now instead of dreading an encounter with Cor, he was almost sad the marshal hadn’t come to check on him. Perhaps Cor learning better boundaries was a good thing. He sprinted off to his next meeting but wasn’t really able to focus on anything. Cor’s statement about not wanting to hurt him kept rolling around in his head. Cor had opted to get injured instead of defending himself. By the time the meeting adjourned a knot of guilt had built in Cartus’ gut. He’d been the one responsible for Cor getting hurt and what had he done? Practically yelled at the man and stormed off. 

Once he reached the safety of his office Cartus dug out his phone to call Cor. However, there was a message waiting for him. 

**Cor Leonis 3:38pm:** _Sorry I upset you earlier, why don’t you come over to my place for dinner and a movie later, so I can make it up to you._

Staring dumbly at his phone Cartus wasn’t sure what to do. They’d had several dates up to this point, but Cartus still wasn’t comfortable going beyond sitting on the couch with the other man. This sounded like it might lead to something more. Movies were normally watched in the dark and that meant he wouldn’t be able to see Cor coming. 

His heart finally caught up to what his brain was doing and shut him down. They were dating for six sake, this was supposed to be the fun part and here he was having a panic attack about it. He promptly texted back a response and dropped his phone on the desk. 

**Cartus Scientia 5:17pm:** _Very well, I’ll see you at seven._

* * *

Shit. Now what? Cartus had agreed to dinner and a movie, and Cor didn’t have the faintest idea of what to do with himself. After a moment of intense thought he came up with a plan. Get dinner figured out first and then pick out a movie. 

After an hour he’d successfully managed to cook something decent and he’d selected three movies for Cartus to choose from. Staring at his bare table he debated about trying to set it. He doubted he even had a tablecloth or placemats for that matter. Opting to put the plates out with a simple setting he rummaged through his cabinets until he found one lone candle. 

Sighing in irritation he spent another five minutes looking for something to hold the thing. His table didn’t look romantic but it looked neat at least. He didn’t want Cartus to laugh at him, but he also knew he needed to make amends for picking on the advisor earlier during training. He really needed to make amends for years of misplaced intentions. 

A knock at his door prevented Cor from diving further into his worried thoughts. Taking a deep breath he answered and smiled when he saw Cartus. Though, his smile fell away quickly when he saw the pinched look on the advisors face. “Did something happen?” He asked concerned. “If you didn’t really want to come I understand.”

Cartus seemed to catch himself and opened his mouth to speak. “Oh – sorry, no I really do want to be here I just feel like I should apologize for getting snippy with you earlier.”

“You don’t have to say sorry for anything, I’m the one who pushed too hard.” 

“I suppose we will be trading apologies in the doorway forever if we don’t move on.” Cartus admitted.

“True enough.” Cor lamented with a small smile. “I hope you like dinner, I’m not a master chef but I know a few dishes really well.”

Thankfully dinner went well; Cartus seemed impressed with his efforts and appeared to relax once they were both eating. The small table in the marshal’s apartment was placed in a corner, so the only two seats available were close. Cor wasn’t one to show physical affection, so when the idea came to him to try placing his hand on Cartus’ leg, he wasn’t sure how it would go down. 

Taking a breath for his nerves he reached out slowly and rested his hand on Cartus’ knee. Desperately trying to ignore the flinch he was met with Cor didn’t remove his hand. Unwilling to look Cartus in the face he finished his meal with one hand. 

“You mentioned a movie?” Cartus inquired about ten minutes later in a voice that sounded far too nervous.

Reluctantly Cor removed his hand and got up to clear the dishes. “Yeah I’ve got a few picked out on the coffee table.” 

Once inside the small kitchenette Cor mentally kicked himself. He’d been hoping for a reaction from Cartus but not the one he got. His smooth move had crashed and burned. Trudging out of the small space and over to the couch he forced a smile. “Did you see one you liked?” 

Cartus seemed a little flustered for a moment. “Uh – they are all fine, you pick one.”

Shrugging Cor grabbed the dvd box that was closest and popped it into the player. He was so lost in his own internal battle he missed the look of trepidation on Cartus’ face once he hit play. Turning towards the couch he was once again met with a problem. Where the hell should he sit? He wanted to be near to Cartus, his freaking boyfriend, but the man seemed afraid of his own skin right now.

Opting to sit in the middle of the couch he sighed and turned up the volume. Why was he so shitty at all of this? Wait, he knew why, he hadn’t really dated anyone because he’d been pining over a certain advisor forever. Now his lack of experience in well, anything, was coming back to bite him in the ass. 

Sitting on the couch in his self-imposed pity pit he didn’t notice Cartus reacting to the movie. Cor was so busy replaying his stupid attempt at being suave that he shouted when Cartus grabbed him. 

“What the hell?!” Cor exclaimed. 

“Sorry it’s this movie, I wasn’t expecting it to be so uh --.” Cartus trailed off.

“What? Scary?” Cor finished for him. “I thought you were okay with all the movies, you told me to pick one.”

“Yeah well I thought I could handle it.” Cartus lamented. 

The realization suddenly hit Cor that Cartus was scared of horror movies. Those were the only ones he’d selected from his collection. Cor had seen so many nightmarish things in his short life that horror movies didn’t hold the same power anymore. 

He was about to launch into another explanation about why it was silly to be scared of something like a movie, but an idea slammed into his brain a second later. Cartus had grabbed him. He might do it again. “So do you think you might be able to finish the movie if I uh – sit closer to you?” He asked. Damn he’d almost chickened out. 

“Please don’t tell me these movie choices are a pathetic way to try and get closer to me!” Cartus huffed. “I told you I’m done with your tricks!” 

The situation was starting to spiral out of control and Cor wasn’t sure how to fix it. Thinking fast he paused the movie and partially turned in his seat to face Cartus. “I’m not playing any tricks Caz, I swear!” He admitted holding his hands up in defeat. “I wasn’t even watching the damn movie; I was too busy kicking myself for messing up dinner.”

Any insult or barb Cartus had on his tongue died instantly. “What on eos are you talking about? Dinner was lovely and I quite enjoyed it.” 

“No, I mean with my hand on your knee, you didn’t react well and I was trying to figure out how to make it better.” 

The color of red that Cartus’ face turned after that statement was cute. The advisor clearly wasn’t expecting that topic of conversation. “Um – your hand.” Cartus took a breath and swallowed. “Your hand was fine actually. I didn’t mind it.”

“Then why are you giving me shit over here for trying to get cozy again?” Cor wailed. 

“I still have a hard time believing that you really like me Cor! I mean you spent years tormenting me and that’s hard to get over. I do want to trus – omff.” 

Cor’s brain had decided that this was the perfect moment to lunge for the advisor and kiss him. Cartus made a startled noise once their lips connected but Cor continued with his mission. He’d gripped Cartus’ collar with both hands and was tugging him across the seat. Cor was about to let up when he felt hands on his shoulders pulling him as well. The lips he was currently crushed against loosened a little, not enough to get his tongue in but it still felt good. 

After what felt like an eternity Cor leaned back and was met with an amusing sight. Cartus was staring at him with a flushed face and a dazed look. 

After a few long minutes of them both catching their breath Cartus finally broke the silence. “I suppose we can go back to watching the movie now.” He offered softly. 

Cor snorted and pulled the skinnier man in next to him. “You’re such a tease Scientia, you’ve been teasing me for years now.”

“Oh no, you’ve been teasing me.” Cartus corrected. 

The movie was started again, and if Cartus didn’t actually watch it Cor wasn’t going to pick on him for it. He had other things distracting him, like the man currently in his arms. They’d kissed before but not enough for it to become a regular thing, Cor could apparently still use this tactic to get a word in, as it were. He hoped they would have many more moments like this in the future. He just had to have the right movie lying around!


End file.
